House Galeres is one of two active Houses of Clan Arcona. Created and maintained by a proud tradition of warriors, Galeres acts as the militant arm of the their Scion. Members of this hallowed House are often distinguished combatants - the "heavy hitters" of Clan Arcona. Their focus is not wrapped in the pursuit of arcane power, but instead that which can be acquired by the blade or a blaster.
The Beginning
In the days before the Exodus, Galeres was located on the planet of Coronada with the entirety of the Clan. After the Exodus and the discovery of the Dajorra System, a base was quickly established on Sukhur, the harshest of worlds in the system. While the Clan desired a foothold on each planet, the practicality of maintaining a base of operations on a planet of sifting glass seas and blistering heat was soon questioned. In an attempt to secure a new foothold on Dajorra and perpetuate their advance as a House of Arcona, they came upon the lush world of Eldar. Spies from the Clan's now-closed third House — Oriens Obscurum — relayed this information back to their Summit. When House Galeres left Sukhur to colonize Eldar, they found the Dark Jedi of Oriens Obscurum waiting for them. According to those archaic traditions, Consul Halcyon Rokir declared a House Feud with Eldar as the prize for the winner. After a campaign of fierce fighting, Galeres proved stronger and took the planet as their new home base. The first Galerian base was disguised as a mining operation. It quickly hit pay dirt with the discovery of Garconian spice found by Voranyen and Gavin d'Tana. After some experimenting on Gavin's behalf, it was found that the spice was extremely potent on Humans and near-Human species. Further testing showed it had effects of euphoria and bliss on the Hutt species. With the Dajorra System located near Hutt space, it became a simple effort of learning to mine and refine the abundant spice.
The 9th Great Jedi War (24 ABY)
- Main article: Ninth Great Jedi War
A great threat formed for House Galeres in the form of a false Jedi Master Omancor Crask; uniting all of the Clans under the banner of the Brotherhood to fight against the threat. Known to this date as the Ninth Great Jedi War, this war was brutal; members were lost, but allies were gained. Despite the devastating losses, the House established itself as a tour de force for the Shadow Clan in wartime. This was the initial foothold in power for Clan Arcona and House Galeres that would stretch through several prominent Brotherhood conflicts.
Hunting Jedi through the Marshes of New Tython
The 10th Great Jedi War (29 ABY)
- Main article: Tenth Great Jedi War
Once more a threat arose from the ashes of time - Jedi Master Michael Halcyon and House Odan-Urr. The brethren of Galeres once more marched to war in the name of House and Clan. This time ―at the behest of the Dark Council― they arrived on the doorstep of New Tython aiding the Brotherhood Fleet. While the legendary Void Squadron patrolled the space above, the soldiers of Galeres were deployed planet-side. Aiding in the capture of key structures of varying strategic value, the militant minded Dark Jedi of Galeres waged a deadly campaign against the Mandalorian forces they encountered on the battlefield -- those known as the Ge'tal Gaan. There were many brutal engagements, but in the end the result was a repeat of their vital performance in the previous Great Jedi War: an Arcona win aided by the loyal members of House Galeres.
The 11th Great Jedi War (32 ABY)
- Main articles: Dark Crusade and Eleventh Great Jedi War
The Dark Crusade began with the invasion of the Super Star Destroyer Avenger II, where a strike team of elite Dark Jedi were able to bring down the crazed Dark Jedi Master, Darth Necar. The combined efforts of both Arcona and Taldryan secured the powerful ship, which required Wuntila Arconae to tame and mount one of Necar's feared Terentatek in order to help bring down the maniacal Lord. With the fall of Darth Necar and the apprehension of the Avenger II, the Dark Crusade to reclaim the lost Sith Worlds truly began... before the final battle at Korriban.
With only Korriban left to conquer, the Dark Brotherhood fractured into hostilities after Lord Marshal Damon Nix uncovered that the then-Grand Master, Muz Ashen, planned to recreate the Rite of Obscuration. Jac Cotelin would lead the Taldryan forces against the Iron Throne while House Galeres and Arconan forces defended Darth Ashen as he performed the first rite, devastating Antei. The Brotherhood would be fractured between three sides: Grand Master Muz Ashen, Grand Master Emeritus Jac Cotelin, and Darth Esoteric. The battles were hollow and duplicitous as the Brotherhood weakened itself in each skirmish.
Under the banner of Dark Adept Baxir Vol, House Galeres and Arcona would rally in the thickest of the combat to prove victorious-- if any real victory could be claimed. Licking their wounds from an extended Dark Crusade as well as perilous battles on Antei and Korriban, House Galeres retreated to the Dajorra System under the guise of SCEPTER. Under the paramilitary operation, they would deploy soldiers and Force Users to move in plain sight. These operations would provide the necessary recruitment of operatives, financial gain, and time to nurse a weakened House back to health.
Perdition and the Fall of SCEPTER
- Main article: Perdition (group)
A House of renowned warriors, Galeres returned to its roots and traditions. As the frontline of Arcona during skirmishes with an alien threat and the One Sith, the House found its stride under the guidance of wise and fair leaders: Celahir Erinos Arconae, Atyiru Caesura Entar, and Uji Tameike. Under the last of these prominent leaders, the House would shift from a 'backroom/underworld' organization to a more 'combat oriented' entity. Returned to its roots, Galeres obscured its presence to the galaxy-at-large through close integration with the paramilitary contractor company known as SCEPTER.
With extensive effort, Galeres used its success in the private sector to fund an expansion of the House's military assets. Soulfire Strike Team would find reformation under the steady leadership of the Erinos family: Nadrin Erinos Arconae, Sashar Erinos Arconae, and Celahir Erinos Arconae. Considerable assets were previously moved to fund a team aboard a highly modified ship known as the Nighthawk during the Eleventh Great Jedi War. Under the careful leadership of an Arconan legend, Arcia Cortel, the ship would integrate itself in the Dajorra Defense Forces and the Dajorra Intelligence Agency. This created a bridge between the military contracting world and the DDF that House Galeres is now so closely aligned with.
At the height of his leadership, the One Sith aboard the flagship Perdition would attack Uji Tameike by targeting his SCEPTER forces. Blindsided with fatigue from the Dark Crusade, SCEPTER was unable to stand against the might of the One Sith as they wreaked havoc within the Dajorra System by attacking several key strategic points simultaneously.
Arconan Ships engaging Perdition forcesAs a result of crippled communications throughout the system, DDF and AEF forces were slow to respond to the threat. Only through the conviction and sheer determination of Uji Tameike were the DDF, Soulfire, and Nighthawk able to complete missions that uprooted the threat.
Fall of Perdition
With the Captain of the Nighthawk - Kordath Bleu d'Tana - captured, Uji Tameike rallied the remnants of his SCEPTER forces and, with the DDF under his command, began the hunt to destroy the Perdition and the One Sith once and for all. The exploits of the Nighthawk allowed them to cripple the larger ship, creating a unique opportunity to board the vessel and take the fight directly to the Force Adept in command of the enemy forces. It would be here -- in a final, decisive battle During the Siege of Selen -- that the upstart would slay the Elder Sith Dassac and vault himself to the position of Proconsul, filling the role of Scion to the Shadow Lady Atyiru Caesura Entar.
In a final act of mercy, Uji deactivated the private military contractor SCEPTER. All of the willing and able Loyalists joined the depleted ranks of the DDF and bolstered Arcona's military might to levels that it had not previously seen since the beginning of the Dark Crusade. With a loyal military branch at his back, he was able to turn the page on an underworld organization to a House filled with Dark Jedi, Loyalists, and Mercenaries to support the Serpentine Throne and the Shadow Lady who sat upon it. With this complete integration, Force Users became military officers of the Dajorra Defense Forces with the power to command forces at the behest of the Consul of Arcona. Loyalists became prominent leaders and advisors within the DDF, AEF, and DIA. Mercenaries became valuable black operations agents to run missions off books or complete the oft difficult missions of the DIA.
Age of Undesirables
- Main articles: Story Arc: The New Order and The Lotus
With stability momentarily returned to the territories of Arcona, the Galerian leadership was able to look inward. In the process, the Entar dynasty saw its last posting as head of the House when Arcia Cortel assumed the mantle of Quaestor in 33 ABY. This would unfortunately signal a period of instability for Galeres. Military duty would pull Arcia aside and was replaced by Turel Sorenn that same year, who shortly thereafter would depart for Clan Odan Urr to take a place among the Jedi. Braecen Kaeth was named Quaestor, serving a full year in the position.
It was during Kaeth's tenure that Grand Master Pravus would make his fateful declaration of genocide against those alien races he named Undesirables, not long after to include the Jedi and any other Force user or ally of the Light side of the Force. Battleteam Tal'mahe'Ra was formed within Galeres as part of the collective and individual response to the Inquisitorius threat. By extension, Galeres assumed an anti-Pravusian stance in the ever-growing conflict, taking on a wider mission set with the addition of being the guardian of the Undesirables within the Clan, vis a vis Tal'mahe'Ra. This mission was largely successful within Arcona's borders, and the Shadow Clan enjoyed a tentative and wary period of peace.
Braecen would hear the siren call of personal elevation from without and left the post for another Quaestorship with Clan Scholae Palatinae, the position being filled by Ernordeth Puer-Irae. His placement appeared to be a temporary fill in the void, as he would leave the post by early 35 ABY. With Kordath Bleu withdrawing from his longtime post as Rollmaster of Arcona and rejoining the House proper, he took up the position of Aedile, filling the gap until Qyreia Arronen, a mercenary from Naga Sadow, applied for the job.
Within weeks of arriving to her new post, the Zeltron deemed that the two distinct Battleteams were confounding an already muddled logistical system. Thus, within a year of its inception, Tal'mahe'Ra was disbanded on the premise that the whole of the House would take up protection of the Undesirables in addition to its long-standing post as the military arm of Arcona. While plans for development were still underway, the Shadow Clan's capital fleet would be all but obliterated in an ambush set by ex-Consul Marick Tyris, leaving many survivors that would come back to a Dajorra system in chaos.
The Plague and the Hutt
Old flames of anger rekindled and the Hutt, Whallata Besadeii, laid claim to Port Ol’val, taking over the asteroid home of House Qel-Droma in a lightning strike that left the Arconans staggering. As if to add insult to injury, the world of Selen found itself beset by a sudden and deadly famine and plague. While elements of the House stormed the asteroid — losing the AGV ‘Nighthawk’ in the process — the denizens on Selen worked tirelessly to allay the effects of the rampant disease and hunger.
On Port Ol’val, Xenna Azara, former Battleteam Leader to Nighthawk, linked in with the resistance being formed by the Qel-Dromans. During this joint effort, they conducted continuous clandestine operations to free the station from Whallata’s grasp. While the fighting and sabotage caused significant damage over the course of the reclamation, Kordath found himself captured by Whallata and, in the process, befriending Gordo the Hutt. Between the efforts of the Qel-Droman combined resistance, and Kordath’s odd new ally, the Arconans were able to kill Whallata and drive off her forces.
On Selen, bodies were rapidly piling up. Martial law quickly became necessary as the seed of dissent grew into small-scale riots. During this time, the planet was under severe lockdown, which only exacerbated the shortages of supplies, but the Shadow Lady Atyiru thought it necessary to protect as many lives offworld as on. The Quaestor repeatedly entreated the Consul to allow a supply train to flow into the system using Clan funds, but the words fell on ears that were too involved in finding a cure. Taking matters into her own hands, Qyreia took it upon herself and organized a smuggling operation through some old contacts that brought in a trickle of food to the people of Selen. While it might have curbed a few appetites, it did little to solve the greater problem and, once Atyiru found out, the Zeltron quickly fell out of favor, resulting in her demotion to Aedile while Kordath rose to Quaestor.
Unbeknownst to all involved, the seemingly separate instances were in fact connected by a singular organization; one that cared little for the body count involved in their revenge.
Rise of the Collective and the Twelfth Great Jedi War
- Main articles: Collective and Twelfth Great Jedi War
A long disenfranchised former officer of the Iron Navy, Rath Oligard collected a strong allied force, aimed at the annihilation of the Brotherhood, its Force users, and allies. After a series of lightning strikes that crippled or outright destroyed multiple Clans’ militaries, the Brotherhood temporarily set aside its infighting to strike back at the newly-dubbed Collective.
Aiming for their supposed headquarters on Nancora, the Brotherhood swiftly executed a multi-pronged assault on the planet. However, due to the nature of their military organization, casualties on all sides were high. Atyiru was presumed all but dead when her flagship, the ‘Invicta II’ was struck by a suicide-bomber space tug. In the aftermath, Satsi Tameike was named interim Consul, which did not sit well with many, including several members of Galeres. Throughout the combat — in orbit and on the surface — Galeres definitively pulled its weight for the Clan, though not entirely unscathed.
In the aftermath, Kordath gradually and quietly transitioned to the seat of the Serpentine Throne after a ruthless series of counterattacks by the lady Tameiki which at times seemed to leave the Clan with more bruising than it started with. With Kordath assuming Consulship, Qyreia once again took up the Quaestor office. With the return of Rrogon Skar, a somewhat unknown element to the mercenary Quaestor, he was given the opportunity at redemption as her new Aedile.
With the revamping of the entire Arconan military came the construction of more military installations, including Fort Blindshot, where Galeres was formally relocated to. Since the fall of Eldar to the ongoing plague, the House had been left without a home. The move thus gave the Galerians a solid foundation to build upon as they fought and, in some respects, sought greater purpose. It also proved a good resource to house the newly acquired discretionary forces that Galeres had on its books, and a safe haven to launch strikes at the lingering Collective insurgency on Selen.
With the destruction of the old ‘Nighthawk’ and its repurposed replacement, the Battleteam saw similar restructuring. With the Trandoshan, Grot, taking the lead, Spectre Cell was reactivated in its place, with the aim of providing a less covert and more overt approach to facing Galeres’ and Arcona’s enemies.